The 2000’s were an ~interesting~ time for fashion, pop culture, and of course — music. The 2000s songs that topped the charts were super diverse. Everything from hip-hop, pop, rock, R&B; and alternative had its chance at the coveted #1 most-downloaded on iTunes title (yeah, remember buying music on iTunes?). However, as the times change it can be easy to forget about some of the artists that experienced fleeting musical fame In fact, some them seem to have fallen right off the face of the earth after their short-lived popularity. That’s why we’ve compiled 19 of the best 2000’s one-hit wonders that you probably forgot about.
1. Amerie – “One Thing”
This. Song. Is. A. BANGER. This is that one song you probably hear all the time, and every time you think wait, what song is this? In fact, a lot of people think this is a Beyoncé, so we’re here to give Amerie her credit where credit is most certainly due. This song is a bop for the ages that will make you feel like you’re back in a sweaty middle-school gym, dancing it up with your girls.
2. Bowling For Soup – “1985”
Okay, you hopefully haven’t forgotten about this song, but we obviously had to include it on this list of iconic 2000s songs. While Bowling For Soup had some other minor hits — nothing compares to the behemoth that was “1985.” Actually, did you know that this song is a cover of an SR-71 song? We didn’t. This song was honestly awesome. It talked about some pretty ~grown-up~ stuff for a song that could frequently be heard on Radio Disney. Isn’t it kind of hard to imagine a song like this being played on every radio station nowadays? 2000s songs were truly unlike any other.
3. Gnarls Barkley – “Crazy”
This is one of the best songs of ALL TIME, not just the 2000s. Although Gnarls Barkley hasn’t quite faded into oblivion like many of the artists on this list due to Cee Lo Green’s fame with songs such as “F*** You” and his stint on The Voice, aside from that Gnarls Barkley has pretty much been unheard of since “Crazy.” It makes sense that this song was a total hit, Cee Lo has a super-unique voice, plus this song was straight-up funk music, which made it really stand out.
4. Baha Men – “Who Let the Dogs Out”
Okay TBH, we’re okay with totally forgetting this song. Yes, it was fun while it lasted but “Who Let the Dogs Out” had its time, let’s leave it there, please. This just goes to show the truly baffling natures of 2000s songs. Can you imagine your reaction to this song was released last month? Somehow, through the magic of the 2000s, this song was a huge hit. In all honesty, we’re not quite sure what this song is about, and we’re pretty okay with that.
5. Fountains of Wayne – “Stacy’s Mom”
Now THIS is a song that needs to be revisited as often as possible. Pretty much everyone can agree that this song was a masterpiece. Now, this is a personal plug — but Fountains of Wayne is a great band so you should check out the rest of this album. ANYWAY, they most certainly never made a hit that quite lived up to the fame-level of “Stacy’s Mom,” but hey — if this is the song they’re remembered by, we’d say that’s not such a bad thing. Plus there were all those theories that Stacy’s Mom was also the same woman Bowling for Soup was talking about in 1985. Makes things interesting, no?
6. The Veronicas – “Untouched”
Now granted, The Veronica’s had a few other hits like “On Your Side,” “4Ever” and “In My Blood,” but none were as iconic as “Untouched.” The strings, the pounding beat, the super-intense vocals that were so fun to sing along with — this song was unlike any other. If you didn’t belt this in your shower at some point during your pre-teen years then you are seriously missing out. Plus, The Veronicas are probably the most badass pair of identical twins ever, which only makes the song cooler.
7. The Click Five – “Just the Girl”
This song was SUPER cute. Every preteen girl secretly hoped that whoever they were crushing on had thought of them while listening to this song. This was such a stereotypical 2000s song by a cute boyband, but it was catchy as hell. The girl in this song was cool and mysterious, making her kind of unrelatable for most crazy-awkward, bumbling 13 year-olds but we liked it anyway. Has anyone heard from The Click Five since this song? Either way, we hope they’re doing well and we really hope they ended up with that girl.
8. D4L – “Laffy Taffy”
This song brings back some seriously painful memories of gangly, awkward 13 – 16 year olds doing some semblance of dancing to this song at a school dance. Aside from the lyric “girl, shake your Laffy Taffy” being straight-up confusing (why Laffy Taffy?) as a reference, this song was so quintessentially 2000s. While there are obviously still some ridiculous hip-hop one-hit wonders nowadays (see: “Juju On That Beat”), none compare to the legacy of D4L’s “Laffy Taffy.” If you truly want to relive the painful memories associated with the song, check out the video to see that one dance move that everyone tried to recreate.
9. Yael Naim – “New Soul”
Okay, the one thing we seriously miss about 2000s music was songs like this that became popular from MacBook and LG phone commercials. “New Soul” is a pretty timeless song — simple, pretty and overwhelmingly happy. Plus, Yael Naim has a really beautiful voice, so we could honestly see this song being popular nowadays, too. This song was thrust into popularity seemingly overnight. It was like all of a sudden all of your friends and family members were playing this on their iPod nano. However, Yael seems to have disappeared as quickly as she came, leaving her with the legacy of a one-hit wonder.
10. Metro Station – “Shake It”
This is another song that we’re okay with leaving in the past. Aside from the overall corniness of their emo/techno/pop hit, “Shake It,” Metro Station is a band that probably won’t translate well into anything other than 2000s music. This song was fun while it lasted, but the heavy synth and emo-feel of the band made it hard for them to escape the 2000s one-hit wonder trap. Check out their haircuts and outfits. Interesting fact, the lead singers are none other than Trace Cyrus and Mason Musso, brothers of Hannah Montana stars Miley Cyrus and Mitchell Musso. Wild. Does it get any more 2000s than that?
11. The Ting Tings – “Shut Up and Let Me Go”
Okay, a lot of people really loved this song but some of us never quite understood why a song like this go so popular. First of all, you can hardly call it a song because it’s really just a girl’s voice talking over a repetitive beat. Granted, the beat is pretty catchy — but it pretty much goes nowhere from there on. The lyrics are super repetitive and ultimately meaningless. Aside from one or two minor hits, The Ting Tings never achieved the same level of popularity as “Shut Up and Let Me Go” after the song was featured in — you guessed it — an iTunes commercial.
12. Snow Patrol – “Chasing Cars”
Ugh. I’m pretty sure anyone who had their ~formative~ preteen years in the 2000s still listens to this song when they need a good cry. Huge shoutout to Snow Patrol for creating one of the most iconic emo 2000s songs of all time. Lyrics from this song could be seen written on every Tumblr page, AIM profile and pair of neon converse for about three years after its initial release. As far as 2000s songs go, this song was probably responsible for the most tears.
13. Hellogoodbye – “Here (In Your Arms)”
Hellogoodbye is another band that found their popularity at just the right time because we cannot imagine a song like this popular right now. Of course, that doesn’t mean that this was not phenomenal when it came to us. “Here (In Your Arms)” is a super strange combination of a love song, heavy techno, and pop. Despite the fact that they have a few other good songs (we suggest “Dear Jamie…Sincerely Me”), it’s undeniable that “Here (In Your Arms)” will forever be their legacy, and what a great legacy it is.
14. Huey – “Pop, Lock & Drop It”
Oh no. Another song that brings back painful memories of extremely bad dancing. Few people were able to accurately pop, lock and drop it, but that didn’t stop the rest of us from trying our best. I feel like Huey didn’t have a bunch of sweaty 13-year-olds in mind when he thought about who would be dancing to this song, but that is most certainly what he got. A bar mitzvah was not complete without every person in attendance attempting to pop, lock and drop it at least once. I say we bring this dance craze back.
15. Lil Mama – “Lip Gloss”
Speaking of ridiculous hip-hop songs, can we all acknowledge the rightful queen of 2000s songs, Lil Mama? While this song definitely would not be able to reach the same heights of popularity now as it did in its time, pretty much everyone will burst into “WUTCHU KNOW BOUT ME” at the slightest mention of lip gloss. Although there was that interesting collab with Avril Lavigne a few years later, “Lip Gloss” was definitely Lil Mama’s claim to fame. We wonder what she’s up to right now.
16. Estelle – “American Boy”
“American Boy” was an absolute banger, and could honestly achieve this level of popularity were it to be released right now. Seriously, play this at a college party and watch everyone lose their minds. Guaranteed, everyone will try to impress each other by rapping the entirety of Kanye’s verse but apart from that, it’ll be a pretty enjoyable throwback for all. Speaking of which, it’s pretty wild to think that Kanye West used to be featured in squeaky-clean pop songs like this. That’s one thing that makes this song very stereotypically 2000s — never again will we be able to catch Yeezy rapping about peacoats in a song called “American Boy.”
17. Danity Kane – “Damaged”
Okay, we’re sorry for listing this song because it will definitely be stuck in your head for the rest of the week. In case you’ve forgotten about the short-lived queens of 2000s songs, allow us to reintroduce Danity Kane. The group was actually formed by Diddy after being featured on the MTV reality show, Making the Band. Talk about 2000s pop culture in a nutshell. As far as one-hit wonders go, “Damaged” is one of the catchiest, most fun songs to sing along to with a car full of your closest friends. (Real fans will remember “Show Stopper,” too.)
18. Lit – “My Own Worst Enemy”
Now THIS was a song we never got sick of. It’s just as good now as it was when it first came out, and it was hands-down the most fun song to play on Rock Band. This rock anthem was definitely not relatable if you were a 13-year-old, seeing as most of the song is about getting super drunk and doing things you regret, but that didn’t stop us from absolutely belting along to it. This song was technically released in 1999, but we’re gonna include it here because its fame lived on well into the 2000s.
19. MIMS – “This is Why I’m Hot”
And, to close off our list, another ridiculous hip-hop song. MIMS’s “This Is Why I’m Hot” is pretty quintessential of 2000s songs with meaningless lyrics and over-the-top videos. We’re all guilty of overenthusiastically shouting “I’m hot cuz I’m fly, you ain’t cuz you not,” with all of our definitely not-fly friends at one point or another. This is another one of those songs that would straight-up never make it as a hit nowadays, but something about the allure of 2000s songs allowed it to remain in the spotlight for way longer than it should’ve.